Child molesters and rehabilition?

[tater03]

O.k. I will agree that maybe I am looking at this to black and white. But while we are trying to find a way to reabilitate sexual predetors, can we not do it while they are locked up for their crimes and if it has to be done when they are released find a way to make sure that they are following whatever treatment they need. That they do not disapper back into mainstream society to maybe repeat their crime. You are right, I may be a layperson. But I am also a mother raising two young kids and know that something needs to be done in our society to protect our children who feel the need to harm them. Yes, before you say it is my job as a parent to protect them I whole heartdly agree, but it is our job as a society to find someway to stop these types of crimes from being comitted. Sorry I don't have a degree in physcology all I am is a concerned mother of two young children.

 

[Furious George]

The only real treatment for Pedophiles (Which Doctors, Psychologists, and even the Sexual Predators all agree on) is Chemical Castration. It is shown that it will slash relapses that are generally guaranteed by counseling and other psych treatments, but all it does is remove that opportunity to make them ejaculate. Nothing is physically cut off, just a natural bodily function is derailed. In turn, this eliminates the idea that they are dominant.

 

[dong]

Tater: Don't worry- I certainly wasn't making any personal attacks. I mean, if I were laying into you, I'd be laying into most people in the room since I'm assuming most people aren't familiar with moral philosophy or the medical practice. The way I said it was simply the quickest and most accurate way of saying it. Your concerns are very valid- I mean, I'm a young adult with no intention of ever having children so I certainly won't have the perspective you have. And yes, we should be doing as much as we can to keep everybody's best interests at heart, but you know me- I like to throw spanners in the works to see if we can't think of a better solution.

Furious George: As much as I hate to say it, that would be about right. And as ridiculous as this might sound, the implications for recommended course of action carries serious moral ramifications too. As such, I refuse to look at this as the only alternative, but as I said before we'll be waiting till the cows come home and then some for anything else to work (namely shifting of societal values).

 

[sarah]

Nothing is foolproof, and I still am not sure if I want to lock them up, or trust rehabilitation. I don't think innocent or rehabilitated persons should be imprisoned, but I also do not want dangerous people on the streets. This is truly a hard subject for me to decide upon.

 

[Unregistered]

Tater,

I don't know for sure but I'm guessing theres a stark difference between what you consider a "large percentage" and what the actual percentage of recidivism is for molesters.

I found this 2003 DoJ study (link at the bottom) on offenders released in 1994, the studay traces them through 1997 and had the recidivism rates for sexual offenders, child molesters specifically, and regular criminals broken out.

They are as follows:

Within 3 years of release from prison:
3.3% of child molesters were rearrested for molestation
2.2% of non-molester sex offenders were rearrested for molestation
0.4% of the entire set of released criminals were rearrested for molestation

43% of sex offenders were rearrested in total (any criminal charge)
68% of non-sex offenders were rearrested in total (any criminal charge)

If the DoJ's data is good you have only a 3.3% liklihood that any one convicted molestor will molest again within 3 years of release. Given that you'd have to keep 30 people in prison for 3 years to prevent one new (convicted) molestation.

While even one molestation is too many so is one year too long in prison, and here we're talking about 3 years for 30 people! I don't think stopping one molestation justifies keeping 30 people in prison for 3 years. This is especially true when you consider the cost of imprisoning that many people for that long, and how that money could be used more effectively (eg: for prevention, education, and closer parolee supervision)

Since someone else asked, it also said that on average child molesters served 3 years of their 7 year sentence (I assume that means prior to parole)

Here's the link to the study:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/rsorp94.htm

I'm sorry, but I guess we will have to agree to disagree. I will say that maybe they are rehabilitable, but then something needs to be done on making darn sure they are before they are let out. Because no matter how you look at it a large percentage end up reoffending. I am sorry, but I really do have a hard time trying to understand the thinking of why someone would want to commit these types of crimes. And again I am talking about the worst ones, not the ones peeing in the park.

 

[dong]

I'm willing to put what little money I have that "unregistered" here is the same person who posted the wiki. Please...sign up! 8D

Also, tater, 'twas just brought to my attention- sure you may have a hard time thinking of why someone would want to commit these kinds of crimes...but we can't presume that everybody necessarily acts on a rational basis, and of course projection is problematic. It may be a matter of 'want' or 'have to' but the psychological and medical interpretation of this is highly discretionary.

But I just wanted to point out the link between acknowledging influence of irrational/unjustifiable motive and lack of rehabilitability.

 

[Plumley]

We all know about lies, damn lies and statistics. Even so, here's a bit more on recidivism rates. It's interesting.

[SIZE=+3]Myth:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]"Most sex offenders reoffend."[/SIZE] [SIZE=+3]Fact:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+1]Reconviction data suggest that this is not the case. Further, reoffense rates vary among different types of sex offenders and are related to specific characteristics of the offender and the offense.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]Persons who commit sex offenses are not a homogeneous group, but instead fall into several different categories. As a result, research has identified significant differences in reoffense patterns from one category to another. Looking at reconviction rates alone, one large-scale analysis (Hanson and Bussiere, 1998) reported the following differences:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=-0]child molesters had a 13% reconviction rate for sexual offenses and a 37% reconviction rate for new, non-sex offenses over a five year period; and[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]rapists had a 19% reconviction rate for sexual offenses and a 46% reconviction rate for new, non-sexual offenses over a five year period.[/SIZE]
​

[SIZE=-0]Another study found reconviction rates for child molesters to be 20% and for rapists to be approximately 23% (Quinsey, Rice, and Harris, 1995).[/SIZE] [SIZE=-0]Individual characteristics of the crimes further distinguish recidivism rates. For instance, victim gender and relation to the offender have been found to impact recidivism rates. In a 1995 study, researchers found that offenders who had extrafamilial female victims had a recidivism rate of 18% and those who had extrafamilial male victims recidivated at a rate of 35%. This same study found a recidivism rate for incest offenders to be approximately 9% (Quinsey, Rice, and Harris, 1995).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]It is noteworthy that recidivism rates for sex offenders are lower than for the general criminal population. For example, one study of 108,580 non-sex criminals released from prisons in 11 states in 1983 found that nearly 63% were rearrested for a non-sexual felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release from incarceration; 47% were reconvicted; and 41% were ultimately returned to prison or jail (Bureau of Justice Statistics).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-0]It is important to note that not all sex crimes are solved or result in arrest and only a fraction of sex offenses are reported to police. The reliance on measures of recidivism as reflected through official criminal justice system data (i.e., rearrest or reconviction rates) obviously omits offenses that are not cleared through an arrest (and thereby cannot be attributed to any individual offender) or those that are never reported to the police. For a variety of reasons, many victims of sexual assault are reluctant to invoke the criminal justice process and do not report their victimization to the police. For these reasons, relying on rearrest and reconviction data underestimates actual reoffense numbers.[/SIZE]

The entire article is here: http://www.csom.org/pubs/mythsfacts.html

 

[harleysneak]

Thanks for the article and it's just hard to think a lot of people won't reoffend. It's just hard to let somebody else knowing that they may be even 1 of one million who will reoffend and then if your child is harmed, I just can't even imagine the thought.

 

[dong]

Oh my, that is great. Kudos to you Plumley, a most appropriate article. Of course I would still encourage careful consideration of the facts here as even that may help mediate and alleviate many aspects of our social functioning...but it is quite understandable to profile in such a way especially when one has many relevant, or even all important interests at heart.